Jim Green Boots

[Fifty150]

Ready for dishwashing shifts at Panda Express.

 

[Fifty150]

Since I already had the shoe brush out for the new boots, I decided to brush off the Numzaan. The Numzaan is now completely broken in. It feels good on my feet. It's a good value, for that price.


I think that overall, the Jim Green models are good. When there is a sale price, it's worth looking into. Not every model has a leather footbed insole and midsole. To me, that is okay. A lot of shoes use lasting boards. No special attributes to the leather that they use, which helps keep the price lower. Some people have mentioned that the leather for the uppers is not the best quality. And the prices have been going up. The Razorback model has increased in price significantly in the past few years.



These are my Numzaan. 3 months of ownership. Fully broken in.

 

[Fifty150]

I started out with the steel toe Razorback. It has met my expectations as a "work boot". It has "worked" in a lot of different environments, and has been exposed to heat, steam, chemicals, and various things actually bounced off the toes. The lug sole has not let me down on city sidewalks, dirt, sand, soil, and uneven terrain. My feet have stayed dry in the rain. The gusseted tongue has kept out dirt and debris. Very heavy because of the steel toes. Break in was not too bad. Lug soles have proven to be effective, and have not let me down.

Next, I bought Numzaan. I have not used it for any real "work" yet. I've done some yard work..... climbing ladders, cutting trees, trimming shrubs, picking fruit. Mostly urban use. Walking on concrete, rainy wet pavement, dirty bar room floors,. They went to the park a few times. Dirt, earth, grass, sand. A lot of leather. These are heavy. Break in was hard. The thick layers of leather were stiff. V-Bar pattern soles, what Jim Green calls "frog soles", have been "grippy" enough for my wear.

I just got the regular Razorback without the steel toe. I've worn it in The City. Walking down the street. Taking the bus. Going to the store. Up & down steel ladders on loading docks. I don't see these going into trenches, underground vaults, or construction job sites, because they are not steel toe. This pair is lighter in weight than the other two. From whatever reason, it doesn't feel like they are as stiff, and the break in is not as difficult. I don't think I'll slip on anything with the lug soles.



As we all have different feet, they fit good on my feet, but your mileage may vary. Comfort, is a matter of opinion. A lot of people may not like the weight of thicker, heavier leather. If grease and oil are a concern, these may not be for you. The leather is not a "premium" leather. It is good. It's sourced in South Africa. Jim Green has videos which explain their leather grade and the tanning process. For my use, it's fine. Although some people may be picky about the grade of hide, tanning process, and things like that. Their soles are proprietary. Not Vibram or Dainite. My 3 pairs of boots are made from 3 different lasts. On my feet, they are all wide and roomy.




I don't foresee buying any more pairs. But you never know. Would I recommend them? Sure, if someone needs a less expensive pair of boots. Good for durability. Not so good for people who like wearing lightweight loafers. This is what mine looks like, side by side. Not the best looking shoes.

 

[Fifty150]

Like every immigrant, I work multiple jobs.

I'm a dishwasher at Panda Express. Hot water. Steam. Sludge. Cleaning agents. Utensils, cutlery, broken dishes, food scraps. The steel toes are important. The gusseted tongue is important.

I also work in the back of a Chinese laundry. Dry cleaning chemicals. Bleach. Hot water. Steam. Gear oil. Chemicals. I'm doing all of the manual labor, including cleaning out lint traps and maintenance service on the machine.



No way to know how many miles I walk a day. I do walk for several blocks to take public transit, and transfer to connecting lines. Sometimes I run to catch the bus. Sometimes I run from those wishing to do me harm. I trudge through the ghetto of broken glass, hypodermic needles, used condoms, ****** shell casings, and other flotsam and jetsam common to streets of the inner city. Rain, shine, sleet, snow....... dark of night.


The steel toe Razorback were ordered last year on Black Friday. Almost a year old now. I can really feel the difference of the broken in leather versus the new stiff leather on the Razorback I bought last week. These boots do take awhile to break in. Then they become extremely comfortable. Almost a year old, and they are showing the wear and tear of my daily routine.



I brushed those off as well. Now they are ready for the cold weather months ahead.

 

[Fifty150]

The shoes were delivered on Oct 9. Today is Oct 16. 7 days. They are broken in. The shoes are comfortable. I would buy them again.

 

[Fifty150]

They say that there's a sucker born every minute. I'm one of those suckers. I just bought another pair of Jim Green boots. Just couldn't resist the sale price. $149. That's $100 off.

 

[Fifty150]

There's nothing wrong with the Numzaan I have now. They've held up well. Which is to be expected, since I have enough shoes that I don't wear the same pair every day. I also have shoes which I wear when it rains, so most of my shoes only see good weather. I don't work in "the trades", so no harsh abuse from being on construction sites.

Here is about 6 months of light use. Getting groceries, going to dinner, seeing movies, and such.

"

 

[Fifty150]

 

[Fifty150]

The darker pair is a steel toe Razorback. It uses the STC last. The lighter pair is a regular pair of Razorback. It uses the JG last. Both are sized to my Brannock device size. My foot measures as a 10D USA. These shoes are USA size 10. You can see from the imprint of my feet on the insole insert how my feet fit in the shoe. Quite a big, bulbous toe with plenty of room for my toes to wiggle.

 

[TLW '90]

Does your job not require slip and oil resistant footwear?
I'm a maintenance worker at a truck stop with an attached restaurant, and my job requires me to wear slip resistant footwear.
I'd love to try something from Jim green at work, but they don't offer any slip resistant outsoles as far as I'm aware.
About 4 years ago I bought a 6" pair of chippewa boots with a vibram gumlite soles ( discontinued, on clearance for $90 ) which were incorrectly listed as slip resistant, but I got to work and literally could not walk in them without slipping all over the place so I put my 8" Justin conductor's back on and went about my day.
If I hadn't experienced this I might gamble and see what happens.
I'm starting to think I may have just gotten some neatsfoot oil on the bottoms when I did some waterproofing on them the day before, because I throw my dunlop rubber wellingtons on when I gotta go out in the rain and those are not claiming to be slip resistant but I can come inside and not slip around on my way to put my Thorogoods back on.

 

[Fifty150]

If your place of employment has certain requirements, I would stick to whatever meets those specifications.



Jim Green Boots aren't all that great. It's not worth getting hurt.

 

[Fifty150]

In their natural habitat.


Good enough for a stitchdown, steel toe boot, under $100.

 

[TLW '90]

If your place of employment has certain requirements, I would stick to whatever meets those specifications.



Jim Green Boots aren't all that great. It's not worth getting hurt.

I disagree about how great they are, I think they're pretty great and the only thing stopping me from buying a pair for work is the outsoles.
Maybe at some point I'll get a pair and have them resoled with meramec wedge soles.

 

[Fifty150]

I own 4 pairs. 2 pairs of Numzaan with the ASHM last. 1 pair of Razorback with the JG last. 1 pair of Razorback Steel Toe with the STC last. I haven't owned them or used them extensively. I haven't owned all of the different boots and shoes that they sell. My experience is limited to my feet and limited use.


The models I own are constructed with a single piece of leather for the vamp. As opposed to other shoes where smaller pieces of leather are skived and stitched together, with the strength of the shoe being glue and stitches. This is a big advantage.

The models I own are fully leather lined. With 2 pieces of leather, the boots are thicker than a lot of other boots on the market.

The Numzaan model has a heel counter cover and toe cap which is another layer of leather. This makes 3 layers of leather over the heel and toe.

The models I own have what Jim Green calls a "built in kiltie", which is an extra layer of leather sewn over the tongue. This will add to the boot's longevity.

The Numzaan model uses real leather for the insole and midsole. This is preferred over synthetic lasting boards. The Razorback uses synthetic lasting boards.

The boots are heavy. They are difficult to break in. This is what happens when you have all of those layers of leather. After break in, they are comfortable. But still heavy.

Overall, I think that Jim Green on sale provides an exceptional value. All of those layers of leather and stitchdown construction. Although I smell a price increase blowing in the winds of political change. I would advise anyone who really wants a pair, to buy now, before they go up in price.

Jim Green uses proprietary soles. I haven't slipped. They are not rated as slip resistant or oil resistant. I've successfully navigated dirty bathrooms in nightclubs....... with all the unpleasantness of young people drinking too much. But if you need slip and oil resistant, no boot is that great to risk falling and injury.


Here they are, in all the glory of a red tile floor. The dishwashing station at Panda Express. Where the steel toes protect me from falling chopsticks and soy sauce packets.

​

 

[TLW '90]

With most good outsoles the weight reducing cavities are a relatively small area in the middle, and there's plenty of solid area to work with.
Any good cobbler would have no problem resoling a pair of Jim greens, they just might have to be a bit clever with the outsole size they start with and where exactly they place it on the boot.
The Meramec or Vibram...etc logo on the bottom might not end up perfectly centered, but a functional resole can be done without a proprietary outsole.

I can even do it myself and have resoled a couple pairs of boots myself that are holding up fine, but I wouldn't necessarily trust them at work.
Eventually I'll get to the point of performing resoles that I would trust to hold up at work.

 

[大馬伕]

I can even do it myself

it looks like Jim Green boots only use glue for the sole attachment. As long as you prep the surfaces well, and you have a way of pressing the sole on, it should be fine.

 

[TLW '90]

it looks like Jim Green boots only use glue for the sole attachment. As long as you prep the surfaces well, and you have a way of pressing the sole on, it should be fine.

It's easy to do, but doing it well takes a lot more practice than I have especially when you don't have a press.
Doing it right with just a cobblers anvil and a hammer isn't as idiot proof.

 

[Fifty150]

You can buy a sole press. It won't take up much space. Just put it in the corner of your room.

Bed Bath & Beyond has a basic hydraulic press. You could build a sole press out of it.

 

[Fifty150]

Numzaan. Supposed to be the top of their range. Exceptional value at the current sale price of $149. A lot of leather in this boot. I have gotten my money's worth.

 

[Fifty150]

After owning the Numzaan, I got to like the Jim Green "veg retan" leather. There's an African Ranger using that leather. The only problem for me, is that it's the synthetic midsole version. I like the leather midsole. Although I have the Razorback with the synthetic midsole, and haven't had a problem. The African Ranger looks like a comfortable boot that I can wear every day. The real problem in my world is that I already have a bunch of comfortable boots that I can wear every day. I don't need another pair of boots.